Twelve

Castle was a smart enough man to know when he was in trouble—big trouble—and he couldn't honestly say he blamed Kate for being angry with him. He knew she would not like him speaking with her parents, which was, quite frankly, why he didn't tell her (or ask her permission). He was hoping she would never find out or, at the very least, not be quite as angry as she was.

Though he could not change what he'd done, he was still hoping to be able to shadow her, so he needed damage control and he needed it quickly. He gave her a few hours to cool off and then decided he would go to her apartment that night to apologize. He picked up a bouquet of flowers on the way to help sell his case.

After sweet-talking the doorman into letting him in the building, he knocked on her door and held the flowers up in front of his face, hoping it might entice her to open the door if she looked through the peep hole. Unfortunately, this was an incorrect assumption, as the door did not open. Instead, all he heard was "Go away Castle."

"But I'm here to apologize!" he insisted. Speaking a bit louder that time, he added, "And I will do It through the door if you don't….open it," he added quitter when the door whipped open to reveal her scowl. He plastered a dopey grin on his face and held the flowers out to her. She stood frozen.

"You were right," he began, still holding the flowers out. "What I did was totally out of line, but you can't blame me for wanting to know more. The whole point of this was to do research-"

"Yeah, on the ADA position, not on me, Castle," she snapped. She did, however, walk away from the door and did not shut it. Seeing this as a sign, he followed her inside and shut the door behind him. Again, he smiled and held out the flowers. She snatched them up, disappeared into the kitchen, and returned a minute later with scowl and a vase.

As Kate walked with the vase to the large butcher block table several feet away, Castle watched her closely. She wore cotton shorts, which looked more like pajamas than regular clothing, a thin t-shirt and an oversized sweater that fell to her mid-thigh. Barefoot, with her hair in a messy bun, she looked even more attractive than when she was in one of her business suits (if that was even possible).

Swallowing hard, he took a few steps towards her. "No, if I wanted to research the ADA position, I would be following around that poindexter with the office beside you and sleeps with a copy of the rule book under his pillow at night. I wanted to research you, Kate. You. The strong, savvy, fiercely independent, determined to do the right thing through hell and high water ADA. And," seeing her glare begin to melt, he softened his tone, "you can't blame me for being curious about what's going on behind those iron clad walls you've erected around yourself."

Chewing on her bottom lip and shaking her head, she leaned one hip against the edge of the table. "You didn't think maybe I didn't want you to know?"

"But why?" he asked, stepping forward. "There's nothing to be ashamed of." He gazed off into the opposite side of her apartment as he reviewed his brief-yet-enlightening conversation with her parents. "I can't imagine how hard it is for you not to have your mother's support but-"

She stood up straight. "Excuse me? My what?"

"Your mother. I read an article about her weeks ago. I know she is a defense attorney. I wondered how that would be between you and now it's obvious that she isn't exactly a fan of her daughter being on the other side of the-"

"Stop it." She snapped, but he didn't listen.

"I mean, she probably wanted you to be a defense attorney too, right? Did you ever plan on…oh yes," he interrupted his own out-loud thoughts when the idea came to him. "You may have, but couldn't-"

"Castle!"

"Not after your father-"

"Castle stop! Enough!" She screamed loud enough to actually silence him. He stared at her, wide-eyed. "You don't know me, Castle. You don't know a goddamned thing about me so stop. Stop pretending you know. Stop pretending I'm a character you created—like you know me inside and out."

Seeing the tears of frustration threatening to fall to her cheeks, he took a step back, guilt chewing at his gut. Lowering his eyes, he said, "Kate, I'm sorry."

She laughed bitterly and brushed a tear casually from her right cheek. "Are you? Are you sorry? You don't seem sorry. You came to me eight weeks ago and turned my life upside down and-"

"Did you ever think maybe that's a good thing?" he challenged. "Maybe that's what you needed—to be flipped upside down?" He'd been thinking it all along—ever since he figured out just how much time she spent in her office. It was possible that she needed a wakeup call just as much as he needed inspiration for his next novel.

Folding her arms over her chest she insisted, "My life is fine just the way it is."

He shook his head, knowing she didn't believe that—she couldn't. "Is it? Is it fine? You live your life here, in this little cave you've constructed for yourself or at your office buried under case files. You do great work, Kate, there's no denying it, but I can see it. I've known you for eight weeks and I can see it—I can see how lost you are in all of it."

He took a deep breath and gazed down at her as she blinked up at him. "Keep doing what you're doing Kate because, my god, are you good at it, but you have to take a step back. There's more to life than cases—more to life than work. You don't want to wake up in ten years and realize you've forgotten to live, do you?"

She let out a laugh. "Don't you think you're living life enough for everyone?"

He flashed her an unappreciative smile. "I know how to draw the line, I won't deny that. But do you? Or do you need someone to show you?" Lowering his tone, he took two steps closer to that he was standing right in front of her. He brought up his hand and slid his fingers around her bottom jaw. "Kate."

"Don't," she warned, stepping back, though her path was blocked by the wooden table. She looked around quickly, as though she was attempting to find another escape. When she found none, she looked him right in the eye. "I was fine before you came here."

"You keep saying that."

"Because it's true."

"And if I leave? Will you be fine then?" Without waiting for her response, he stepped forward, slipped his hand below her jaw once more, and pressed their lips together. At that exact moment—the instant their skin was in contact—he felt an electric shock to his heart like he'd never felt before. It was if he had lived every moment of his life to reach that exact point; that exact second.

Breathless, he pulled back and gazed into her eyes. For the first time he saw everything he ever wanted, everything he never knew he needed, but suddenly she was it and he had to have her, no question about it.

He smashed their lips together once more, pulling her body against his, feeling the heat from her skin as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, kissing him back with equal passion and longing. He took two steps forward, backing her up against the table and holding her neck with both hands as their lips parted and tongues began to duel.

His hands ran down from her neck, over her breasts and around to the small of her back. He used this leverage to push their hips together. This elicited a moan from her which further drove his actions.

When his lips turned their attack on her neck, she began clawing at the front of his button-down shirt. For a moment, he thought she might rip it right off him, but instead, her hands took a southward turn and settled on his belt buckle, which she immediately began loosening.

Before Castle even realized what was happening, he was pushing her cotton shorts and panties off her hips, hoisting her up on to the table and driving himself into her. At his first thrust, she let out an elicit moan and hooked her knees around his hip. Pulling her body in line with his, she bit his bottom lip before kissing him again, fully, deeply. The wooden table legs squeaking against the floorboards would have almost been comical to him if he hadn't been fully consumed by his desire for her.

Kate's breath came in shorter and shorter bursts until suddenly she cried out, her fingers digging into his shoulders, her walls contracting around him. He reached his own climax with one more thrust, grabbing on to the base of her neck with one hand and her hip with the other. He danced a few kisses across her jaw and throat before pulling back and gazing down at her.

Had he not been in such an amorous mood, he might have laughed at her disheveled appearance. Her hair was an absolute mess, with strands sticking out at odd angles and a large chunk down across one of her eyes. Her lips were red and plump from their kisses and her expression was one of absolute shock.

For a moment, they merely stared at each other. Then, as though she suddenly fully realized what had just happened, Kate pushed herself off the table and wrapped her sweater tightly around her. She turned from him, scooped up her panties and shorts from the floor, and took two steps away. "You should go," she said quietly, refusing to look at him.

"Kate-"

"You should go," she repeated, taking a few tip-toe steps towards the bedroom area.

Castle sighed and zipped up his pants. "Kate, I'm sorry."

"Goodnight, Castle," she said before shutting the door to the bedroom and locking it behind her.